Nairne, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Nairne is a township in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, about 40 kilometres east of Adelaide and only a few kilometres north-east of Mount Barker. It was founded in 1839 by Matthew Smillie, who named it for his wife's family, and a district council bearing the name was established in 1854. For more than a century the town was associated with Chapman's bacon factory, which operated from 1899 until 2002 and has since been redeveloped. The surrounding hills country now supports vineyards, a strawberry farm and a large gin distillery, brewery and winery complex, and the town has served as a film location. It makes an easy day trip from the city.
Around the national middle
Nairne is more socio-economically advantaged than about 52% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 991, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Nairne a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Nairne from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
52/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (52/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
32/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $350 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 32% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Nairne at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,327
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $1,776
- SEIFA score
- 991
- Local government area
- Mount Barker
- Coordinates
- -35.0337, 138.9143
Map of Nairne
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Nairne
What it costs to live in Nairne and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $350
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,500
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 77%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 21%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Nairne demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Nairne demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Nairne using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 28% and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,167 | 22% |
| Youth (15–24) | 614 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,479 | 28% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,366 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 701 | 13% |
Share of the 5,327 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 478 | 24% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,034 | 53% |
| Rented | 402 | 21% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,906 | 98% |
| Townhouses & semis | 29 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,941 occupied private dwellings in Nairne.
- Average household size
- 2.6 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,077
- Median weekly personal income
- $859
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 657 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 188 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 63 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,274 (57%)
- Labour-force participation
- 71.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.9%
- Employed full-time
- 1,575
- Employed part-time
- 1,066
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Nairne
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Nairne is January (average daytime high around 29.8°C) and the coolest is July (around 14.8°C). The area receives roughly 452 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.8°C | 16.4°C | 33 mm |
| Feb | 28.3°C | 15.6°C | 26 mm |
| Mar | 26.1°C | 14.7°C | 17 mm |
| Apr | 22.5°C | 12.8°C | 35 mm |
| May | 18.1°C | 10.8°C | 42 mm |
| Jun | 15.4°C | 8.9°C | 39 mm |
| Jul | 14.8°C | 8.4°C | 48 mm |
| Aug | 15.6°C | 8.1°C | 49 mm |
| Sep | 18.4°C | 9.2°C | 41 mm |
| Oct | 22.4°C | 10.9°C | 41 mm |
| Nov | 24.4°C | 12.6°C | 49 mm |
| Dec | 27.7°C | 14.4°C | 32 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Nairne
Is Nairne a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Nairne rates 45/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Nairne?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Nairne was $350, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,500. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Nairne?
Nairne is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Mount Barker local government area.
What is the population of Nairne?
At the 2021 Census, Nairne had a population of about 5,327.
Is Nairne an advantaged area?
Nairne has an ABS SEIFA score of 991, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 52 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 52% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Nairne?
Nairne has average daytime highs of about 22°C and overnight lows of about 11.9°C, with roughly 452 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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